Report on Pacific Islands Judges Symposium on Sustainable Development (Conference Report) [2003] JSPL 12; (2003) 7(1) Journal of South Pacific Law

 

REPORT ON PACIFIC ISLANDS JUDGES SYMPOSIUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

By Gregory Rose

 The Pacific Islands Judges Symposium on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development was held over three days, 5-7 February 2002. The aim of the Symposium was to bring together judges from the region for information exchange, between themselves and experts in environmental law, and for discussion of potential roles of the judiciary in decision making for sustainable development.

It was one in a series of judicial symposia on environmental law organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Other regions where such symposia have been held include Africa (1995), South Asia (1997), South East Asia (1999), Latin America (2000) and the Caribbean (2001). The series culminated in a Global Judges Symposium held for the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, 18-20 August 2002.

The Pacific Islands Judges Symposium on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development was initiated and supported by UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), and was sponsored by the Commonwealth Secretariat, South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the United Nations University (UNU). It was hosted by the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet in Brisbane, Australia.

Attending the Symposium were Chief Justices or their representatives from Pacific Island countries, members of the Australian judiciary, and resource persons from sponsoring international organisations and Australian universities. It commenced informally on the afternoon of day one with presentations of information on current environmental law in Australia, which was delivered at the hotel where participants were accommodated. On the second day, the Symposium was formally inaugurated in the Queensland Parliament’s Conference Room (Old Parliament Chambers).

Following inauguration and a keynote address, Pacific Islands regional overviews were presented and Pacific Islands judges exchanged information on current developments in their respective national environmental legal systems. The third day focused on themes of shared regional interest, being the national development of environmental jurisprudence, the implementation of environmental conventions, and the legal tools of environmental democracy. The Symposium concluded with South Pacific judges engaging in a closed working group on capacity building and their adoption in plenary of a Statement of Conclusions and Recommendations.